The ELKEYs—a name derived from elephant and donkey—are bipartisan and honor outstanding achievement during the 2014 election cycle. The public nominates and votes online for awardees in several categories.

“I was surprised that I won, because all of the other pollsters were from major political campaigns,” said Paleologos. “I was the only nominee from a university.”

Republican State Chair Kirsten Hughes and Democratic State Chair Tom McGee were on hand for the award ceremony, along with elected officials, candidates, campaign workers, consultants, and political activists.

“The award is validation that the work we do at Suffolk University isn’t Democrat or Republican,” said Paleologos. “People don’t view us as one party or the other. They just see that we strive to be accurate.”